After Breast Cancer: 10 Tips for Breast Cancer Survivors
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and its clinical partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, has released the last research-based tip sheet in a series that it produced in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The FHCRC provided tips and information regarding breast cancer prevention, screening and treatment, and now offers tips for those who survive the disease. The last tip sheet in the series is provided by Karen Syrjala, PhD., the director of behavioral sciences and co-director of the Survivorship Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Dr. Syrjala shared the following tips for breast cancer survivors:
1. Get a summary of your treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy doses, so that these can be provided to your primary care providers.
2. Using the information regarding the treatments you have undergone, make a plan for monitoring the long-term effects of your cancer treatment.
3. Learn how to manage the fear of cancer coming back.
4. Get moving by engaging in such physical activities as walking or choosing to take the stairs, or join an exercise program.
5. Follow a healthy diet.
6. Live a healthy lifestyle, by not smoking, taking only limited amounts of alcohol, and using sunscreen to protect one’s skin, on top of eating healthy and exercising.
7. Reclaim your body.
8. Manage symptoms.
9. Connect with other survivors – sometimes, it is not enough to have the love and support of family and friends; there is a different comfort in being able to talk and spend time with someone who knows exactly what it is like.
10. Make use of resources. There are various community and online resources available to breast cancer survivors, such as Cancer Lifeline and LIVESTRONG.org.
Tags: breast cancer prevention, breast cancer screening, breast cancer survivors, breast cancer tips, breast cancer treatment, surviving breast cancer
